NTSC Video Over Unshielded Twisted Pair (Category 5)

Infrastructure: Beneath the shiny new equipment and within the walls, ceilings and floors of the Chief Leschi school buildings exists a complex array of connecting cables to serve the multimedia needs of the Chief Leschi community. Consisting of glass and copper, miles of wire deliver data, audio (voice and music) and video (graphics and full motion video) to and from all the classrooms. The Chief Leschi video distribution system employs cables containing unshielded twisted pair copper (UTP) with a Category 5 rating (rating indicates how many twists per given length) to deliver composite baseband video plus audio from the Multimedia Headend (near the main library) out to the individual classrooms, and also provides the pathway to provide return video and audio from any classroom back to the Headend for internal distribution, archiving and/or video teleconferencing anywhere on the planet where compatible equipment can receive it. Within the confines of the Headend various sources, multiplexers, controllers and switches are interconnected with a combination of shielded copper cables and coaxial jumpers depending on the particular implementation. The video distribution system is interconnected with the Chief Leschi local area network (LAN) and closed circuit television network (CCTV)(not shown in the diagram) which utilize fiber optic cable and coaxial cable, respectively.